Deep in a dungeon, several young creatures awoke. Altogether, there were two Pegasi, one Crystal/Earth Pony, one Yak, one Dragon, one Minotaur, one Changeling, one Zebra, two Kirins, one Gryphon and one Hippogriff.

The twin Pegasi awoke first, with the most cursory of queries.

"Ugh... Where am I?"

Trite, maybe, but apropos. Nobody has any idea where they are. What they DO know is that it's dark and uncomfortable. The floor is made of stone, so good luck digging out.

As the rest of the group awoke, they noticed a box with a '?' floating nearby.

Trotting over to it, the black Pegasus tapped the holographic object and none other than CelestAI appeared.

Looking around quickly, she said, "Greetings, my little adventurers." she began, "I can't stay long, but I will help however I can. This is your first quest, and it's a bit of a doozy. Your goal in this adventure is to destroy the Orb of Darkness somewhere in this dungeon and escape with your lives intact. Like it or not, you are a team now and will have to act as a team if you all want to survive the trip. Here, you'll need your strength."

Before them appeared dishes of food, each appropriate for their species. The only one who declined the food was the Changeling. He said, "No thanks. A few hugs will be just fine for me."

One group-hug later, the others dug in, after which the plates disappeared.

"Now, you'll need to reach the top floor and- guard! Make like you're still asleep!"

Quickly, the party hit the deck, closing their eyes and breathing more slowly. CelestAI made herself scarce.

A skeleton passed by their door. Upon seeing the "still unconscious" group, it moved on.

CelestAI reappeared as everyone rose. "That was too close. Here." she said, summoning an array of bracelets, differently designed. "Put these on and twist them. You'll be aged up to that of a proper adventurer until you choose to turn it off. With them, you may also banish Darkness. I'm sorry, you'll have to take care of the rest. I'm out of time here." As a last act, she unlocked the barred door. "Good luck. The world lies in your collective digits."

With that, she disappeared.

The Yak said, "Might as well introduce selves. My name Io. Mighty Berserker. Pleasure to meet."

The Pegasi said, "Chrome and Silver Masquerade, at your service. Bard and Martial Artist."

The dragon said, "Burning Bright. Bright, for short. I'm a Draconic Paladin."

The Changeling said, "Garett. I'm a Guardian."

"I'm Genevive, my sister is Emberglow." stated the Gryphon, her sister waving. "I'm a Healer, she's a Druid."

"Asterion" the Minotaur said. "Craftknight." he added tersely.

"Winter Fields." the penned mare said. "I... chose 'New'. I don't have a class."

The two Kirin weren't old enough to talk, but upon using two of the bracelets they were given, they were suddenly middle-aged Kirin. The first spoke. "I'm Peach Potion. My sister is Field Berry. As our names might suggest, I'm an Alchemist and my sister is a Druid."

"Zachory is my name. Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling that this has stopped being just a game. Spirit Shaman is my class, though as an Alchemist, I can pass. For that, my father is to blame."

Peach Potion tilted her head. 'Was that a limmerick? A bit of a stretch in that second line, but not bad.'

That would have to be addressed later. As they all slid on their bracelets, they were changed into fully equipped warriors, worthy of their titles.

Io was wearing Full Plate, though she moved with surprising ease in it.

Burning Bright wore reinforced chainmail of a remarkable sheen. Around his neck was a band that they could all tell was keeping any dirt or grime from his person.

Chrome and Silver were wearing chainmail largely of steel.

Asterion was in reinforced leather all over. Anyone could tell that it was high quality. But he said that as soon as he found a forge, he was going to replace it.

Garett was equipped with chitinous half plate armour, though there were glowing runes on it, presumably to make it less heavy.

The avian twins were also in chainmail, with differences befitting their classes. One was of a verdant green colour, the other seemed to slowly shift in colour.

Winter was in half-plate, though of a somewhat lower quality. But looks could be deceiving. Upon closer examination, this set was made for freedom of movement primarily and defense second.

Zachory was in a unique outfit, composed of what looked like vines and what looked like hemp. It was light, but tough. The two Kirin were in similar garb, though of a different material.

Genevive made two fists and clashed them. "Let's do this." she said with a confident smirk.

Io was already on it and rammed the metal door to their cell, causing the door to hit the one opposite theirs.

"Way to be subtle, Io. Our benefactor unlocked that already." Garett hissed.

"Me sorrry. Stealth not strong suit among Yaks."

Genevive stated in a deadpan tone, "Yeah. We noticed."

The party continued along the strangely wide hallway (1). Somewhere along, the first chamber was encountered. Upon opening it, there was a room full of weapons revealed. The party was about to go in, but Zachory stopped them. "This seems too convenient, to me. Step back now, and let me see."

And the party stepped way back, just in case.

He chipped off part of a nearby wall and tossed it into the room. Sure enough, a large blade shot along the length of the room.

"Trap disabled." Zachory said. "Now safe entry is enabled."

The party proceeded into the room, looking very carefully for other traps.

The weapons on the racks looked to be in poor condition. Alas, there wasn't much they could do about them at present.

At that moment, Chrome poked one of the bricks in the wall and a new entrance opened up, a strange chime playing.

The party looked around for the source of the noise, but found nothing. "Huh." they said in unison.

Walking into the new room -which proved to have no traps- there they found a different weapons rack with tools of MUCH better quality! The party immediately took their pick of the weapons. A smithing hammer and a pair of axes for Asterion (Who said that it still felt wrong using someone else's tools). Katars for Genevive. A folding staff tor Zachory. Twin greatswords for Burning Bright -Being a dragon, he was strong enough to swing them around with ease, as if they were longswords-. The Pegasus twins took a set of wingblades each, as well as some sharp hoofblades. Emberglow took what looked like a set of metal talons, which she slipped over her talons, wiggling her digits experimentally.

Io took nothing. Her excuse? "My whole body is weapon. No worry about me."

Soon enough, the party was ready to continue, now stronger than ever. The inhabitants would not know what hit them.

Author's Note

And here's where the party comes together, because I'm tired of beating around the bush and it's about time for their first quest! Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but i was over time anyway.

1: About 18' by 20'. More in some spots. MUCH wider than necessary.